Term Paper on "Autism Spectrum Disorder Is a Serious Affliction"

Term Paper 6 pages (1594 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Autism spectrum disorder is a serious affliction that has increased in prevalence in recent years. It is estimated that one out of every 150 children born in the United States is autistic. It is unclear whether the disorder is diagnosed more often or if the rate of occurrence has actually increased dramatically. Whatever the case, autism has emerged as a serious health issue. The purpose of this discussion is to Compare and contrast two theoretical models of intervention in Autism.

Behavioral model of Intervention

Behavioral interventions designed to treat autism are amongst the most studied and best tested interventions for those suffering from the disorder. According to a book entitled, Autism Spectrum Disorders this particular type of intervention results in a broad range of benefits. These benefits include increased communication with others, that ability to perform self-care, greater engagement with peers and family members as it pertains to leisure activities, acquiring vocational skills, receiving an education and better management of the behaviors associated with autism such as tantrums. The author explains that From a behavioral perspective, individuals with autism have biological impairments that reduce their ability and motivation to learn in ways that typically developing children and adults do. In particular, individuals with autism have little skill or interest in playing creatively, conversing, modeling other people's actions, exploring their environments, attending to teachers' instructions, or reading books on topics that are unfamiliar to them. As a result, a primary goal of behavioral treatment is to provide learning situations that enable individuals with autism to experience success and that motivate them to continue learning (Hollander, 2003-page 369)."

Autistic individuals that are to receive behavioral interventions must first undergo an assessment. According to the author the autistic individual is expected to have an interdisciplinary evaluation to diagnose the disorder. The evaluation is also designed to make certain that the individual does not have a medical problem that is not autism. The evaluation also makes certain that the individual does not have hearing loss and their skill level is evaluated. During the assessment the individual is observed so that the clinician can have a better understanding on the condition of the individual and their behaviors. There are three primary reasons why the assessments are performed;

1. Determine the behaviors that need to be treated also known as targeted behaviors. These behaviors are usually found to be behavioral excesses of behavioral deficits (Hollander, 2003). Behavioral excesses are behaviors that are performed to frequently and they usually include stereotypes and tantrums. Behavioral deficits are inclusive of behaviors that should be performed often but are not (Hollander, 2003). For an individual with autism these deficit behaviors usually include lack of communication and play.

2. Identify how events affect behavior in the individual; this is referred to as functional analysis. In most cases the functional analysis concentrates on events such as antecedents, consequences and establishing operations. Antecedents are triggers or events that happen right before a certain behavior (Hollander, 2003).

Consequences, on the other hand, are events that occur following the display of a certain behavior. The author points out that consequences are likely to increase or decrease the behavior occurring again. Finally, the establishing operations are events that modify the impact of antecedents and consequences (Hollander, 2003).

3. Identifying the skills the person being treated needs to obtain so that they can engage in new behaviors.

4. Determine which interventions would be beneficial to the individual

Once the assessment of the individual is complete and it is determined that behavioral intervention would be beneficial to the individual, the intervention can begin. The interventions usually begin in early childhood and there are centers throughout the country that specialize in behavioral interventions. In many cases the interventions involve engaging in behaviors repetitively as a way to retrain or redirect the brain. The therapy often involves showing the autistic child how to play and perform certain skills. It also attempts to emphasize the importance of communication.

This point is emphasized by focusing on improving eye contact and asking for what they need.

Overall many children with autism have benefited greatly from behavioral interventions. Because autistic children often display behaviors that are disruptive, behavioral therapies are often viewed as a way to reduce these disruptive behaviors so that the individual can better function in daily life. In addition behavioral interventions allow the autistic person to better communicate with the people around them. Communication is extremely important because it allows the autistic individual to make contact with the outside world and develop the skill sets they will need to survive.

Educational Approaches

In addition to behavioral models of intervention, there are also a slew of educational approaches that have proven beneficial to treating autism. One such educational approach is conductive education. Conductive Education is a form of special education that was originally used to treat children with other disorders such as cerebral palsy. According to Tilstone et al. (2004), "Conductive education is based on the notion of 'orthofunction' which aims to develop physical and emotional independence... orthofunction is not a cure for disordered motor function but, they believe, helps the child to find some solutions to the problems of everyday life (pg. 147-148)." Conductive education is very group oriented. Every member of the group encourages the other members of the group to do well. This particular therapy has just recently emerged as a way to treat autism. Because of the nature of this particular treatment it is unclear whether or not those with severe autism would benefit from this type of therapy. However, some early studies have suggested that people with moderate to high functioning form of autism can benefit from this type of intervention.

Another educational approach in treating autism is known as gentle teaching. Gentle teaching involves the use of absolute acceptance and gentle touch to react to those with developmental disabilities (Jacobson et al., 2004). According to the authors

Gentle teaching is a philosophy of treatment that purports to have achieved remarkable success with problem behaviors including extremely dangerous ones (McGee & Gonzalez, 1990; McGee, Menolascino, Hobbs, & Menousek, 1987). Although behavior-analytical components are present in gentle teaching, unconditional value giving and warm assistance and protection are central to the overall strategy of dyadic interaction enhancement or "bonding" between the client and caregiver (Jacobson et al., 2004, pg 72)."

The gentle teaching approach to treating autism is somewhat controversial and there is not a great deal of research that points to the effectiveness of this particular method in treating autism. However, for some individuals with the disorder gentle teaching seems to be an effective way of reducing some of the symptoms associated with autism.

Educational interventions are also inclusive of the placement of an autistic child. According to Schoen (2002) there is a range of educational services available including segregated special education programs to placement in general education classes. In addition, highly individualized programs are often necessary to meet the unique needs of the autistic individual. The author explains that one of the main concerns in any type of educational intervention is the timing of the treatment. Most research now confirms that early intervention programs occurring prior to 5 years of age have been correlated to progress in the individual (Schoen, 2002).

Although Education interventions contain some of the same elements as behavioral therapies they are different. Teaching therapies often place the emphasis on what the individual can do as opposed to their deficits. In some cases education intervention even involves peer participation. Many parents opt to use both of these interventions to treat autism in children. In many cases the behavior interventions are used first so that the children can participate and get the most out of educational interventions. In other cases parents or caregivers utilize both types of interventions simultaneously.

Whether the intervention for treating an… READ MORE

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